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D.C. Cop Under Investigation in Prostitution Ring

WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — A D.C. police officer is under investigation for allegedly running a prostitution ring out of his apartment, court documents show.

The documents filed in federal court show police went to the officer’s apartment Tuesday after learning that a 16-year-old girl who had been reported missing about a week earlier was believed to be there. Police said they found the 16-year-old at the apartment along with an 18-year-old woman, and also found marijuana.

The girl told them the officer had arranged for her to engage in sex acts with a man, and that the officer took nude pictures of her and nicknamed her “Juicy,” according to the documents.

The girl also told police that she had met six other women at the apartment, who talked with her about prostituting for the officer, the documents show.

When asked about the investigation, police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump confirmed only that police served a search warrant at the home of an officer in the department’s 7th District. She said the officer had not been arrested as of Thursday evening and that the investigation is ongoing.

Barnhill declined to talk to WNEW about the investigation.

The allegations against Barnhill come just days after D.C. police officer Marc Washington was charged with taking nude photos of a 15-year-old girl when she had returned home after being reported missing.

Prosecutors say Washington went to the girl’s bedroom and asked her to take off her top and bra so he could take pictures of any injuries. Court documents say Washington took pictures of the girl’s breasts and told her to put her clothes back on.

Prosecutors at a bond hearing Thursday in federal court said Washington had hundreds of pictures of females on his camera. Many of the pictures were of domestic violence victims and some of them were of minors, prosecutors said.

Multiple sources tell Segraves that a second D.C. police officer is being questioned in relation to Washington’s child porn investigation, and the unidentified officer also has been placed on non-contact status.

Police are looking into communication that Washington and the unidentified officer had between the time the 911 call came in about Washington taking nude pictures of the girl and when Washington deleted those pictures.

Sources tell Segraves there is a possibility that the Washington case and the Barnhill case are somehow linked. Both officers are assigned to the Seventh District in Southeast D.C.

Police Chief Cathy Lanier released this statement about the department’s ongoing investigations:

“The Department is very concerned about the recent allegations of egregious conduct by two officers. We recognize that the actions of individual officers reflect on the entire Department. To uncover any potential malfeasance by officers, the Department regularly conducts audits and investigations of their conduct and behavior, both when on-duty and off-duty. The misguided actions of a few in no way reflect on the professionalism, dedication, and integrity of the Department. As we have seen several times this year with three officers shot in the line of duty, MPD officers put their lives on the line every single day to protect residents and visitors in the District of Columbia. That will not change.”